The system of the invention may be incorporated into telephone answering machines of the type including a first magnetic tape mechanism in which an announcement is recorded on a magnetic tape, and which is activated during an announcement interval in response to ring signals received over the telephone line. This causes the recorded announcement to be transmitted over the telephone line to the calling party during that interval. The telephone answering machine also includes a second magnetic tape mechanism in which incoming messages received over the telephoneline are recorded in sequence on a second magnetic tape.
The system of the invention may also be incorporated into a telephone answering machine in which the outgoing message and incoming messages are recorded on a single tape in a single magnetic tape mechanism; or one in which the outgoing message is stored in a solid state memory; or in other types of telephone answering machines.
Most present-day telephone answering machiens are controlled by a microcomputer, and when such a telephone answering machine is first energized, the microcomputer goes through a reset routine during which it checks both the outgoing announcement tape mechanism and the incoming message tape mechanism, and sets both tape mechanisms to their home positions. The microcomputer then acts to set the machine to its "auto answer" mode ready to respond to the first telephone call.
In the machine of the present invention, when the microcomputer detects the pre-defined tone as it goes through the reset routine it then automatically controls the incoming message tape mechanism so that the initial message recorded on the incoming message tape is automatically played back. After playback of the initial message, the microcomputer then returns the incoming message tape to its home position and sets the machine to its auto answer mode. As stated above, the initial message and the pre-defined tone are both erased when the machine responds to the first telephone call and records the first telephone message on the incoming message tape.